Treasury Secretary Says US Not Losing Control Over Inflation as Twitter CEO Issues Dire Warning

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen answers questions during the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 23, 2021. Greg Nash/Pool via Reuters

Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey issued a warning about the economy over the weekend as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Oct. 24 said the United States isn’t losing control of inflation.

“Hyperinflation is going to change everything. It’s happening,” Dorsey wrote on Twitter. “It will happen in the U.S. soon, and so the world.”

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and co-founder & CEO of Square, attends the cryptocurrency conference Bitcoin 2021 Convention at the Mana Convention Center in Miami on June 4, 2021. Marco Bello/AFP via Getty Images

During an interview on Oct. 24 with CNN, Yellen said inflation levels would return to normal by the second half of next year. She made the remarks in the context of promoting President Joe Biden’s domestic infrastructure and social spending packages worth trillions of dollars combined, saying the two programs would be implemented over 10 years.

“I don’t think we’re about to lose control of inflation,” Yellen said. “On a 12-month basis, the inflation rate will remain high into next year because of what’s already happened. But I expect improvement by the middle to end of next year ... second half of next year.”

Supply chain snags have bedeviled the United States and other countries as economic reopenings have spurred a surge in demand, she said.

“As we make further progress on the pandemic, I expect these bottlenecks to subside. Americans will return to the labor force as conditions improve,” she said.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies during the House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington on Sept. 30, 2021. Sarah Silbiger/Pool via Reuters

However, a group that represents UPS, FedEx, and other air cargo companies issued a warning that the looming Biden vaccine mandate for federal contractors on Dec. 8 would trigger supply chain chaos. With that mandate coming amid the Christmas shopping season, they argued that it will further “adversely impact needed operations” and noted that worker shortages are already persistent.

Meanwhile, a report from the Department of Labor released earlier this month found that the U.S. consumer price index is running near a 30-year high. Year-over-year prices in September were up by 5.4 percent, the report found, noting price increases for food, cars, and other staple goods.

Procter & Gamble and Unilever, which both make consumer goods, announced in recent days that they would boost prices on certain goods amid worsening inflation.

Unilever Chief Financial Officer Graeme Pitkethly saw little letup in inflationary pressures and warned that “we expect inflation could be higher next year than this year,” Reuters reported.

Procter & Gamble’s price increases aren’t being implemented on all its products, but they will be marked for specific items such as razors and in some sub-categories, CFO Andre Schulten said, Reuters reported. U.S. retailers are aware of the new sticker prices, he added.

“We announced price increases to retailers in the U.S. on oral care, skincare, and grooming,” Schulten said in a conference call. “It’s item by item.”